There are many types of subsidies and lumping them all together does the discussion a great disservice. Subsidies vary considerably from country to country and even further within geographic regions of the US.
There are a plethora of small family owned farms that receive subsidies which enable them to stay in business as workers shy away from long hours and LOW wages. The high costs of equipment, fertilizers, insect sprays, land, etc make it extremely difficult for these farmers to make any money to provide for their families.
I have very good friends who are farmers and worked as a farmer for several years. Subsidies range from tax breaks all the way to paying some farmers not to produce certain crops. It's an incredibly complex subject that has elements of conservation, urban sprawl, economies of scale, tax law, market economics, and of course weather.
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